


the winter winds litter london with lonely hearts

by ohprongs



Series: canon(ish) fics [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 1970s Britain, Gen, Heartbreak, Pre Canon, Questionable Fashion Choices, SH Love Fest, break ups, friends helping friends aka my jam, magnus ft. the immortal squad, not actually set in london despite the title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9388070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohprongs/pseuds/ohprongs
Summary: It's no New York, but he doesn't need it to be. Right now, all he needs is the fact that no one would evensuspecthim of buying somewhere so close to Ragnor, which makes it the perfect hiding place.Not that he's hiding. It's just a good spot to get wasted in peace.





	

**Author's Note:**

> written for [edin](http://achilleanragnor.tumblr.com)’s [sh love fest](http://achilleanragnor.tumblr.com/post/154910608248/shadowhunters-valentines-day-fic-a-thon) day 12: alone on valentine's day
> 
> i'm not sure if i messed up or the writers did, but in 1x13 camille asks how long it's been (since they've seen each other?) and magnus answers '138 years' in approx. 2016, making the 1870s the last time they saw each other. then in 2x04 magnus says he was in london in the 1870s and camille was there, not sounding like they were on the verge of a final break up. so idk what's going on. i went with the s1 timeline and assumed the s2 writers just got their dates wrong.
> 
> title from _winter winds_ by mumford  & sons

Magnus’ house in the country is tiny. 

It’s a hidey-hole, a little cottage built from grey stone with wooden window frames and a heavy oak front door. Nestled away in the rolling hills of the South Downs, the trees are the closest thing to keep him company for miles. 

Along the main road a way there’s a little village, with a post office and corner shop and an off-license. There’s even a village hall that apparently hosts a disco once a month, if he felt like dancing.

The theme of it this time is, of course, a love ball. But there’s no way in hell he’s spending Valentine’s Day in the company of a bunch of Mundanes who seem entirely too thrilled Thatcher got voted in, rather than his alcohol collection.

Goddamn Ragnor and his awful country.

The short ginger man Magnus bought the house from must have died about fifty years ago. The place is still in pretty good condition considering he's only been back to it a few times. The wooden beams are a little rotten and the couch is mildewed and there's definitely a mouse scurrying around the attic, but it's cosy. He lights a fire in the grate with a wave of his hand and it fills the whole room with a homely glow. 

It's no New York, but he doesn't need it to be. Right now, all he needs is the fact that no one would even _suspect_ him of buying somewhere so close to Ragnor, which makes it the perfect hiding place.

Not that he's hiding. It's just a good spot to get wasted in peace.

He downs three fingers-widths of whiskey from a tumbler and pours himself another. Fingers dancing, he sets the record player going. It pours out a blues tune, the melancholy drawl of the trombone feeling strangely appropriate.

Magnus is just settling into his armchair so he can cuddle up with his bottle of whiskey when a loud succession of knocks sounds against the door. He jerks upright, wondering if he'd forgotten to set his wards in the miserable state he's in - the Mundanes shouldn’t even be able to _see_ the place. He draws in a breath, centres himself; he finds the steady thrum of the defensive magic still pulsing away underneath it all, like the motion of the tides.

His heart rate decreases substantially - if the wards are still up, that means there's one of three people outside. One of three people who can always break through his walls.

One of three people he doesn't want to see right now.

Magnus flicks his fingers and all the noise in the room mutes. More hammering at the door is quieted to a gentle tap; the music drifting from his record player dies down to background noise. It's like he's underwater. It's not unpleasant.

He sighs and settles into his chair again, uncapping the whiskey bottle.

The knocking at the door becomes more insistent.

"I know you're there, Magnus!" 

His darling Catarina. Her voice feels like its coming to him from a distance. The hammering on the continues, bursting through the temporary peace Magnus had magicked up and turning ear-splitting.

Unable to ignore it any longer, Magnus finally shouts, ”I’m not in!"

A sigh so loud he can hear it through the door, even over the music playing. Maybe. It might be his imagination.

"Just open the bloody door!"

Oh, good, Cat’s not alone. 

"Are we gonna have to blast the thing down?"

Magnus sighs heavily and drags himself up from the armchair. He stumbles over to the door and yanks it open.

"That would be rude," he points out. As expected, Catarina is standing on his doorstep. She raises an eyebrow; Ragnor looks entirely unimpressed. Magnus looks Cat up and down. "Nice flares," he says, standing by to let her in.

Cat just looks at him. "We brought alcohol," she says in response, and Magnus' face lights up. He's suddenly feeling much more hospitable.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" he asks. They brush past him and begin taking their coats and shoes off, making themselves right at home. Ragnor makes his way to the kitchen area and sets about making tea, while Cat shakes out a blanket she just conjured and drapes it over the couch. 

“This place is freezing, Magnus,” she says, coming over to him and rubbing his arms.

“I’m quite warm,” he says, gesturing to the bottle of whiskey on the table. “Do you want some?”

Cat wrinkles her nose and procures the alcohol she’d mentioned.

“You know I’m a vodka girl,” she says. Magnus looks at her fondly and snaps his fingers to get her a glass.

Ragnor walks back through from the kitchen, carrying a cup and saucer. Seeing both his friends here, Magnus suddenly feels a little out of place. And a little ashamed for running from them.

“I don’t understand,” Ragnor begins, looking around with a hint of disdain, “why you had to relocate to _Sussex_ , of all places.”

Magnus curls his lip and takes a glass of vodka from Cat. 

“New York got too much,” is all he says, sipping the vodka as he takes a seat on the couch. “Don’t either of you have plans for today?”

"100 years, Magnus. Did you think we'd forget?"

Ragnor settles on the couch beside him. Magnus peers over; Ragnor’s cup looks like it contains brandy more than tea.

Magnus hums half-heartedly. His heart aches.

"102, actually," Magnus says. He sips more vodka, winces against the taste. "I don't think Camille's counting." He gulps down another drink and blinks away the burning behind his eyelids. "She told me she didn't want to leave, you know." He puts his glass down on the table with more force than necessary and swipes at his eyes.

Ragnor's hand comes to rest on top of Magnus'. Somehow, Cat squeezes herself onto the couch beside Magnus and the three of them squish into a seat for two.

"She was never good enough for you," Cat tells him gently. She leans her head against his shoulder and he rests his head against hers. "We're gonna be here to tell you until you believe us."

"And in the meantime, there's alcohol," Ragnor reminds him. "No one should be alone on Valentine's Day. Even people who fail to heed their excellent friends' advice."

Magnus pouts, but he kind of wants to smile. "I don't have any of those," he says, but his fingers close around Ragnor's and clasp his hand tightly.

Cat refills her glass and Magnus' with a snap of her fingers. She picks his up and hands it to him.

"To hearts and their healing," she says.

Ragnor clinks his teacup against their glasses. Catarina nuzzles against Magnus' shoulder.

Magnus smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr @[lightwoodlesbians](http://lightwoodlesbians.tumblr.com)! :)


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